Update: Read our review of Citrus Blast and discover that it does taste like Squirt!
Pepsi is rolling out a new grapefruit-inspired beverage called Citrus Blast, apparently targeted at the likes of Coke's Fresca and Fanta Grapefruit, as well as Dr Pepper Snapple Group's Squirt.
Citrus Blast
(Source: Beverage Digest. Used with Permission)
Thanks to information provided by Salute to Soda and Beverage Digest, we know that it will be arriving soon.
Looking at filings with the US Patent and Trademark Office, there are some weird entries. For example, trademark requests for both "Citrus Blast" (#85192888) and "Diet Citrus Blast" (#85192887) were filed on December 8, 2010, but then "abandoned because the applicant filed an express abandonment" by December 14, 2010, just two days later. In this case, it was "PepsiCo Corporation" who applied for the trademarks.
The next day, December 9, 2010, these trademarks were once again applied for, again as "Citrus Blast" (#85193898) and "Diet Citrus Blast" (#85193906), with both proceeding along as being "Published for Opposition" on March 1, 2011. Here's the goofy part. For this second set of trademark filings, the owner is listed as "The Concentrate Manufacturing Company of Ireland Corporation, Ireland Corner House, 20 Parliament Street, Hamilton, Bermuda". Some research revealed that this is a wholly-owned subsidiary of PepsiCo, serving as "a worldwide supplier of ingredients and concentrates to bottling agents." Pepsi seems to use to them license flavors of their international brands and a couple odds and ends. For example, Manzanita Sol as well as their old Tava brand were trademarked through this subsidiary. They also seem to control the international, non-US trademarks of 7Up and 7Up Free via The Concentrate Manufacturing Company of Ireland.
This just makes you sort of wonder what's so different about Citrus Blast that they went this route of trademarking vs. using PepsiCo as the owner. Could there be international plans for Citrus Blast? Is there something going on regarding rights or ownership of that name that required a Bermuda holding company to be used. Maybe it's the name of an energy drink flavor elsewhere? The mysteries never cease!
You might wonder why Pepsi all of the sudden needed to have a grapefruit-type drink in its lineup to compete with the likes of Squirt. Well, it all goes back to 2009 when both Coke and Pepsi were on this kick to buy their largest bottlers and merge them into respective corporate cultures (The Pepsi Bottling Group and PepsiAmericas for Pepsi, Coca-Cola Enterprises for Coke). When that was taking place, both companies had to renegotiate with Dr Pepper Snapple Group for the rights to carry Dr Pepper and other drinks, since DPSU has relationships with those bottlers already.
In the end, what ended up happening is that both Pepsi and Coke paid Dr Pepper Snapple Group a ton of money to retain distribution rights for Dr Pepper in the territories where they previously handled the beverage. However, if you read the fine print, you also found that DPSU got some rights back as part of the deal. For example, Coke surrendered some rights to sell Squirt, Canada Dry, Schweppes and Cactus Cooler, while Pepsi surrendered Sunkist, Squirt, Vernors and Hawaiian Punch. Notice which drink is mentioned in both cases?
Yup, Squirt.
Thus, Citrus Blast seems to be Pepsi's way of fueling that niche since they no longer have the rights to distribute Squirt. At least, that would be my speculation.
Looking at the package design and the name itself, could they have gotten any more generic and boring? One look at that and you instantly think "knockoff store brand," not something from the same folks who brought you Mountain Dew. The fonts and style look like a mid-2000s Sierra Mist (anyone remember Sierra Mist Lemon Squeeze?), complimented by some cheap clip art. Even the name itself has "blah" written all over it. It's going to be interesting to see how they market this flavor, because you are already starting in a hole with a name and design like this.
Diet Citrus Blast
(Source: PepsiProductFacts.com)
Pepsi has some information available on their product facts website, which supports the label's proclamation that both the regular and diet versions will be caffeine free. The official description they provide is as follows:
A whole new twist on CitrusA deliciously light, crisp and clean-tasting citrus soda with a splash of real grapefruit juice. The combination of bubbles and fresh citrus flavor makes this caffeine free beverage extra refreshing and thirst-quenching
The regular version via 20 oz bottle contains 240 calories, 110 mg sodium, 64 g carbs (and sugars), and overall features 1% "juice".
Citrus Blast
Carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, citric acid, grapefruit juice concentrate, modified food starch, sodium citrate, sodium benzoate (preserves freshness), glycerol ester of rosin, natural flavor, potassium sorbate (preserves freshness), calcium disodium edta (to protect flavor)
Diet Citrus Blast, again in a 20 oz bottle, isn't zero cal, as it's listed as having 10 calories. Along with the use of grapefruit juice concentrate (1% juice), it will be sweetened by the popular combo of aspartame (177 mg) and acesulfame potassium (or Ace-K, 44 mg). It will also have 115 mg sodium, less than 1 g carbs (and sugars), and like the original, features 1% "juice".
Diet Citrus Blast
Carbonated water, citric acid, grapefruit juice concentrate, aspartame, modified food starch, sodium citrate, natural flavor, sodium benzoate (preserves freshness), pectin, glycerol ester of rosin, acesulfame potassium, potassium sorbate (preserves freshness), calcium disodium edta (to protect flavor)
Has anyone seen or tasted Citrus Blast yet? What do you know about the drink? Feel free to share in the comments or via Twitter and Facebook as we await more information!
Saw it at Giant Eagle in Pittsburgh last night. Looks generic
Pepsi reregistered in Ireland to avoid paying taxes in the US on this product. Some doofus registered a patent without asking Pepsi legal if they ever wanted to pay taxes in America (no!). That's the only reason to reregister like they did.
If ^those taxes are co-indexed to sales – they'll have nothing to worry about with this product anyway.
I want to try this out. I love Diet Squirt, but it's not available locally, and I always end up bringing a suitcase of 4 12-packs home everytime I'm out west. Hopefully this will taste similar enough to serve as a replacement, or better yet, force DPSU into distributing Diet Squirt here.
We can get regular Squirt locally, but I don't need the calories.
The label design is similar to Squirt in a way. Wonder when it will be available on the shelves?
I just bought some today from the local grocery store in Kalkaska, MI. It tastes like Squirt, and I would definitely buy more, but t definitely LOOKS generic.
Found a 2 liter of this stuff at my local Jr. Foods convenient store in Bowling Green, KY when I shopping for Squirt. I ended up buying a 20 oz bottle of cold Squirt to drink now, but bought a 2 liter bottle of Diet Citrus Blast to drink later. I have to say that Citrus Blast tastes very similar to Squirt, but the good thing is that it the Diet version enjoys wide distribution. Definitely a good Squirt replacement for anybody who cannot find Squirt or cannot find the diet version. It's too bad the name and packaging is so generic though.
My boss at Pepsi let me have a few cans to try two weeks ago. I really like it, the taste reminds me mostly of Citra, but since I've never really drank Squirt, I can't compare those two. The frustrating part was after those cans, I have to wait until it shows up in stores to try it again!
Saw it at Walmart & Their website denys having it or any other pop. Kept trying to find who made it. Ask.com brought me here. So it is a pepsi product they must not be very proud of it. As to flavor squirt is better in my opinion. YOu know, if you can't find Squirt in diet in your store talk to the manager. Alot of the time stores are willing to carry certain items if you let them know. Some stores even carry request forms for that reason. Also contact your local distributor and ask them who carrys the diet or other flavors you like. After all they are into making sales. Good Luck
Pepsi does funny things. Corporate bottlers stopped bottling both regular and diet Caffeine Free Mountain Dew. There were still several independent bottlers that continued the product and even with limited store-shelf space the product sold. EVERYTIME, Pepsi Corporate Bottlers purchases another independent bottler (Kansas City, as example) they stop bottling this product in very short time. Corporate management at both Pepsi and Coke are constantly chasing their tail. How many brandings of lemon-lime has Pepsi introduced to the market? I know of 3, at least. Yet ALL lemon-lime products are CAFFEINE FREE! Do you think Sierra Mist and Sprite are chasing 7-Up? Easy answer…"let's do the same thing"!! But ALL citrus beverages, with the exception of slightly tart, Squirt and Fresca are highly caffinated. Why does Coca Cola bottle Mello-Yello and Volt and try to be exactly like Mountain Dew? That makes NO marketing and business sense if you're trying to get product sales with an unique product. So I give this new product no more than 12 months. After it's initial splash, it will be buried on the shelf someplace and die piecefully with something else "Great And New". That's the true story of the two large American bottlers.
Reminds me of Wink. anyone remember that one?
Remember Wink but never tried it. Citrus Blast tastes like Squirt does, after the ice cubes melt a little.
Until they come out with a different combination of sweeteners than "the popular combo of aspartame (177 mg) and acesulfame potassium (or Ace-K, 44 mg)," or sucralose, I won't be touching it. I'm on a low-carb diet and know there are better sweeteners out there, Pepsi even markets one. I haven't had a soft drink since I began cutting out carbs years ago and I guess I'll just continue doing without.
Just found it at Walmart. I am a Diet Squirt drinker and this is very similar. It's good, I hope Pepsi keeps it around.
LOVE IT!!!
I'm drinking a bottle of the regular Citrus Blast right now. I found it in my workplace cafeteria soda case. It tastes like a slightly sweeter version of Squirt. It reminds me a lot of how the old UK drink Lilt used to taste. I like it.
I almost didn't buy it because of the label, though, because I thought it was a knock-off brand. Only the fact that it was shelved with the Pepsi products made me look closer. The only mention of Pepsico is on the bottle cap in tiny print.
It reminds me alot of Squirt soda, even the label looks the same. I'll take it since Squirt isn't available in my area. A good replacement.
I've purchased several bottles of this soda, I LOVE IT! I moved to the east coast 6 years ago and have failed to find a location that sells squirt. No one seems to know what squirt is
.. I continually search for a good replacement and cannot ever find one that's quite the same.. This Cirtus Blast is awesome and taste exactly the same as squirt.. It's perfect!!
I'm drinking Diet Citrus Blast. Since the BevReview post, they must have changed the formula. 0 Calories and 0 carbs now per 8 oz.
I picked it up as a curiosity, it was on sale for $1 along with other Pepsi 2 liter bottles. As a diet soda only drinker, I can say it's fairly refreshing and similar to any other grapefruit soda. If you like grapefruit soda and see it on sale, grab it. Otherwise, get whatever brand is on sale. Now Diet SunDrop. That stuff is good.
I went to the local Turkey Hill convenience store in Harrisburg, PA, for Pepsi and saw Citrus Blast next to the Pepsi. It has unremarkable labeling, but the taste makes up for that. I looked on the label to see what company made this and couldn't find any reference until i looked at the cap and saw Pepsico. I am now addicted to Citrus Blast and am not in the market for a rehab program for my addiction…I just want to find it in 2 liter bottles so i don't have to keep paying $1.69 for 20 ounces of this nectar of the gods! I don't like Squirt or any of the other grapefruit sodas I've tried…just this one!
I really like it. It has a fresh taste and I can drink it without getting the caffiene jitters. I looked all over the bottle to try and find out who made it. Finally googled and found this sight.
I loved Squirt. This is better.
I'm drinking a Citrus Blast right now. Spotted it in the Pepsi case at the office cafeteria. Was a little surprised that the labelling on the bottle made no reference to Pepsi… so had to go looking on the Net to find that it was indeed a Pepsi product.
In short, the taste is great. I like it better than Squirt. The only think that would make it better would be to use sugar rather than HFCS.
The label and logo are quite lame, and as you pointed out, look like some store-brand imitation of Squirt. Pepsi really could have done better. But since Pepsi logos seem to change every year, I guess we can always hope for something better… or at least different.
For all of those that can remember way, way, back; they might remember a soft drink that this drink immediately reminded me of. That being "SIMBA" bottled by Coca-cola.
found some today at my local store. Tastes great, generic bottling who cares. You people fall for marketing gimics and never try anything different? Anyways, I figured it was pepsi, cause it was stuck in the middle of all the other pepsi products.
Overall, better than Squirt imo, close though, this is based of the Diet comparison. Not sure about the non-diet.
I'm always on the lookout for Squirt, which isn't sold here in Alabama or much of anywhere else in the Southeastern U.S. So, when I saw a bottle that looked like Squirt at an Arkansas convenience store but was labeled "Citrus Blast," I couldn't resist. It tasted almost exactly like Squirt, with maybe a tiny bit less bite. I would choose Squirt first, but Citrus Blast is a good 2nd choice. Unfortunately, according to the Pepsi website, Citrus Blast isn't sold in my state either!
I bought some today at our local Wal-Mart. This stuff is great and worth every penny.
I bought this a couple of times from the local Shop Rite(Fairless Hills, PA), but it has since been taken off the shelves. Has foggy and tangy fallen short again? In the meantime, Sun Drop, its release companion, remains. Like lollipops in the doctor's office. Can't stand it.
Citrus Blast could use a retooling. More tang in it.
I'm a big fan of citrus based sodas. I like the taste and I also like the versatility of them to use for cocktails or other NON- A punch beverages. I saw Citrus Blast for the first time last night and bought a sleeve. Before , I tell you what I think however, I should inform you that we in the area have a local independent bottler here ( Hint for Pepsi – I live in PA ) who also makes a "grapefruit based" beverage. And they call it, surprise, surprise, Grapefruit soda. ( I like their to the point marketing). This product has been around for at least 50 years and the bottling company even longer. It is naturally flavored and is probably more a cocktail mixer than an outright straight drink BUT it has character and as Howard L said earlier, tang. It is delicious ice cold.
Pepsi ? Are you listening ? Adults drink soda as well. Perhaps you should market Citrus Blast product with "natural " sweeteners ( i.e maltose or agave sweeteners ) and brighten it up with some citrus tang.
This is a decent beginning though.
like it can not find it.
much like love.
What ever happened to Diet Citrus Blast? I drank it like water last summer, but it was gone by September. I live in VA; is it now a region restriction?
haven't seen it in MONTHS.